Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to hire 'hundreds'

KITTERY, Maine — Local tradesmen and contractors hurt by the economy are expected to get a boost from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, which will be contracting out work for $24.5 million in repairs to buildings and other facilities at the yard.

By Deborah McDermott

seacoastonline.com

By Deborah McDermott

Posted Mar. 25, 2009 at 2:00 AM

By Deborah McDermott

Posted Mar. 25, 2009 at 2:00 AM

To learn more

For more information on construction work at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, visit www.neco.navy.mil or www.fbo.gov/.

KITTERY, Maine — Local tradesmen and contractors hurt by the economy are expected to get a boost from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, which will be contracting out work for $24.5 million in repairs to buildings and other facilities at the yard.

Members of the Maine congressional delegation announced Monday the yard will receive the money as part of the federal stimulus package.

"If not all, the vast majority of this will be contract work," said Paul O'Connor, president of the Metal Trades Council at the shipyard. "Our work force is to work on submarines and associated work. We don't have the capacity to take on this. It's going to take hundreds of people to do this work."

Some $11.2 million will be used to repair four berths, or piers, at the yard, O'Connor said.

"We still use these, but we haven't had the financial resources to do the regular maintenance," O'Connor said. "Over the years, our piers degrade. With the Navy short of cash, the first thing they chop off is maintenance."

The remaining $13.3 million will be used for substantial repairs and modernization of a training facility, the administrative building and a dry dock support facility. O'Connor was quick to point out that this is a different facility than a new one that will be built using $21 million appropriated by Congress last year.

The work on the three buildings includes roof and window replacement, exterior repairs, interior modernization and installation of a heating and air-conditioning system.

According to Danna Eddy, public affairs spokeswoman at the shipyard, the contracting process has begun.

"We don't have a start date yet for any of these projects, but it's important to note that these are all projects which we will execute in the very near future," she said.

Members of the congressional delegation were delighted with the news.

"The Portsmouth shipyard at Kittery was the only public shipyard to receive funding through the (stimulus package)," said Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe. "And approximately 70 percent of the new funding is for projects to increase the energy efficiency of the shipyard. This is exactly the kind of investment that I will continue to fight for in Washington."

"When I voted for the stimulus package I had two goals in mind: Put Maine people back to work and invest in our long-term economic recovery. This money does that," said U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine.

"This funding will help improve the lives of the dedicated men and women who work at Maine's military facilities. In addition, it will help boost our economy by putting people to work improving our defense infrastructure," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.

"I have been calling for this repeatedly and I am pleased that the shipyard is receiving funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act," said U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H.

Shipyard officials were pleased as well.

"This is great news for the shipyard and our surrounding Seacoast communities," said Deborah White, public affairs officer at the shipyard. She said the money will be used not only to make much-needed repairs, but to make the buildings more energy efficient.

O'Connor agreed. "This is going to be good for the local economy," he said.